


72 Hours

by AngelsAvengeMe



Category: 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: Accidental Marriage, Anxiety, Canon Gay Character, Canon Gay Relationship, Crack-ish, Good Boyfriend Carlos Reyes, Happy Ending, Idiots in Love, M/M, behind the scenes shenanigans, wonky legal stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:26:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28436853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelsAvengeMe/pseuds/AngelsAvengeMe
Summary: Okay, so they may have gotten married by accident. And no, neither of them had been drunk when it happened. Some people were just stupid, okay?If only TK could figure out a way to tell Carlos--an oddly big believer in the sanctity of marriage--they’d hitched their wagons together, or whatever Texans said instead of just saying what they meant.Yeah. This wasn't gonna end well.
Relationships: Carlos Reyes/TK Strand
Comments: 8
Kudos: 124





	72 Hours

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sagamohr](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sagamohr/gifts).



> For my bae who gave me this prompt a while back (which I finished basically the day she gave it to me but then I forgot to post loool) 💕 Thanks for always helping me find my creativity when I lose it ;p

He’d been tossing and turning, so desperate to fall asleep he was considering the pros and cons of running head-first into a wall to knock himself out, when Carlos— _finally_ home after the friggin’ longest shift ever—shuffled into their room and flopped down on to the bed face first.

“Ugh.”

Chuckling, TK groped around, accidentally jabbing Carlos in the bare side as he did, his boyfriend letting out a string of unintelligible, vaguely upset sounding syllables at the sudden disturbance. With a soothing hand, TK slid his fingers up into Carlos’ hair, pulling the curls just hard enough to be pleasureful before moving down to his shoulders, so tense, it felt as if he was kneading a fleshy rock.

“Wanna talk about it?”

Carlos shook his head, well, as much as one could with their face smooshed into a surface. “I just wish people would _stop_ ,” he mumbled.

TK snorted, digging his fingers into the edge of his scapula. “Valid,” he agreed as Carlos let out a contented sigh.

A car drove past outside, sending a diffused beam of light through their gauze curtains, highlighting Carlos’ Adonis-like form. God, he was so lucky. He must’ve done something pretty epic in a past life to have him in his life.

“You gonna be okay to still go help me out with Yannick’s show tomorrow?”

“Mmhm.”

“You sure? I can cancel, or go by myself. Let you sleep in.”

He pushed down along Carlos’ spine, dragging the pads of his fingers from the base of his neck to the waistband of his black boxer shorts, Carlos becoming a little more relaxed with each vertebra he passed.

“M’not letting you get faked married to some wanna-be celebrity,” he said, or, more accurately, yawned.

* * *

“ _Married_?”

The two-bit actor/ _ordained-friggin-minister_ in front of him blinked, a dumb grin spreading across his dumb face. “Yeah,” he said, before taking a bite from his quickly dwindling jerky stick. And no… that wasn’t a euphemism.

“We’re married? As in me,” he said, waving his hands in front of himself before gesturing vaguely towards Carlos who was currently in deep conversation with his (soon to be ex-) friend Yannick, thankfully many, many feet away “-and that guy over there. _Married_? You’re sure. No question about it?”

“Yeah, dude. Cool, right? I knew it’d be a good idea to actually get ordained for this role. Nailed it, eh? Didn’t stutter once. Also brought a real marriage cert too and everything,” he added, handing TK the signed ( _official_ , oh my god it was _real_ real) certificate. “You’d think the prop department on this show didn’t know what they were doing. Good thing I’ve got their backs, eh?”

“Haha, yeah. Totally. Totally,” he said, though it was more like a quick expelling of air. “Uhm, can you excuse me for a second?”

“Sure, man!” he said, clapping TK on the shoulder before pulling him in way too close. A shudder ran down his back as the beef-tinged breath wafted against the shell of his ear. “Before you go: you need any ideas for a honeymoon, hit me up. I’ve got an in at the glow-in-the-dark mini-putt down the street,” he said, completely earnest. TK nodded, hoping to god the bubbling horror within wasn’t as obvious on his face as it felt inside. “Tell ‘em Lance sent ya. You’ll get the all-star treatment and a sick-ass discount.”

“Oh. Uh, that’s really nice of you Lance but I don’t think I could use your, uh, name, like that. Wouldn’t sit right. Thank you though.”

Lance snapped and pointed at him, something akin to a look of respect transforming his dumb face. “Man, I knew there was a reason I liked you.”

He grabbed a business card from his oversized velveteen hoodie and handed it to TK with a completely unneeded secret hand-off handshake that would’ve made his drug dealers back home laugh their asses off ’til they cried.

“Keep in touch, eh? I wanna see the fruits of my labour, if you catch my meaning.”

A distinct wave of nausea hit him so hard he swayed. Lance didn’t honestly want him to send pics of him and Carlos like _that_. Did he? Oh God. Oh God. What did he do to deserve this?

“Tag me on Insta. Happy couples are my weakness.”

Oh, thank God.

  
He didn’t even bother hiding his sigh, the feeling of relief so euphoric he didn’t care what Lance thought.

“Gay, straight, bi, anything and everything else, I don’t mind. It’s just, like, knowing I helped add to the love in the world is what gets me pumped. Excited even. Y’know?”

_Breathe through the nose and out through the mouth. Breathe through the nose and out through the mouth. Breathe through the nose and out through the—_

“Damn bro, think your SO wants you back for a huddle. Guess I’ll check you later! Peace. Oh and congrats again,” said Lance, throwing him a mock salute before swaggering off toward a group of his fellow background actors/‘reality’ stars.

Oh no. Oh no. Oh nooooo-no-nonononononono.

He stuffed the certificate and card into his jacket pocket, horribly crumpling it in his hurry, not that it mattered. It’d be kindling soon enough anyway.

“TK?”

He jumped as hand landed on his shoulder.

“You okay, babe? You’re lookin’ a little green.”

He fought the overwhelming urge to put his face in his hands, instead nodding. “Uhm. I think I just ate something funny. You know set food; can’t trust it,” he said, clutching at his stomach. “Can you drive me home? I know we had plans but…” His stomach really did hurt so it wasn’t a complete lie. Still, it felt horrible to do it.

“Of course. Are you sure you’re okay? Should I call Michelle?”

Unable to look Carlos in the eye, he could feel the worry radiating from him, especially so by the way he placed a gentle hand to his back as he led him toward the car.

“No, I’ll be okay with some of my dad’s ginger tea and some sleep I think. Sorry,” he mumbled. He really was a shit boyfriend. No wonder Alex—

Carlos placed a quick kiss to the side of his head. “Don’t worry, TK. I’m sure Ramon’s World Famous Taco Truck with ironically better churros will still be there when you’re feeling better.”

Stupid, perfect, cute-ass, charming boyfriend ruining his spiralling.

* * *

His dad had been laughing for three minutes and 23 seconds straight. And no, that wasn’t an exaggeration. At some point it had even morphed into the silent kind, the one that made your stomach cramp painfully and tears prick at your eyes and blur your vision.

He hoped it hurt.

“This is serious, dad.”

“I’m sorry, kid,” he said, breathless. “I don’t mean to make you feel bad. You gotta admit though, it is pretty hilarious.”

He scowled. “No, it’s really not.”

“C’mon! You and Carlos accidentally getting hitched while you sub in for a background couple on a reality dating show? That’s gold. Who would’ve expected that? One for the books, TK. One for the books.” 

“My life is over.”

His dad let out a few deep breaths and wiped at his eyes before patting the couch cushion beside him. “No it’s not, don’t be so dramatic.”

Feeling rather petulant, TK crossed his arms and turned away from him.

“ _Tyler._ ” Though his dad’s voice was serious, his face still had that happy-glow to it, making him look younger and more carefree than TK had seen him in a long while. Full of life. Vitality.

_Goddammit_.

“That’s low.”

His dad tried to bite back a smile but failed horribly as he once again patted beside him. Rolling his eyes, TK did as he was told, flopping back into the pillows next to him.

“I know it seems like a big deal, but you can get it annulled. What d’you have, 72 hours to get it done? That’s plenty of time. We can even go first thing tomorrow.”

“We work a 48 tomorrow. 5am sharp.”

“Carlos can do it then.”

“Carlos doesn’t know, remember.” He shot a quick glare to the other man. “Plus he works tomorrow too.”

“We’ll go the day after your shift’s done then.”

“The courthouse is closed.”

“Really?”

TK shrugged. “Construction.”

“Damn.”

“Yeah.”

“How about the next city over?”

“Has to be from the city or district you got married in.”

“Wow.”

They sat in silence for a long moment, TK doing everything in his power to not vibrate out of his skin or chew through his hoodie string. If the bits of fluff in his mouth was anything to go by though, it wasn’t working very well.

“How’s anyone in Austin supposed to get an annulment then?”

TK sighed. “You can request a form through their website but it’ll take longer to get here than I have.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah.”

His dad sighed. “Look, I’ll make a couple of calls, see if I can’t get you the form.” His dad placed his hand on the crown of his head, gently running his fingers through the short hair there. “I know you’re worried, but it’ll be okay. I promise. I would think about telling Carlos though. He does have a right to know, considering he’s also a part of this.”

“You don’t get it dad, Carlos takes marriage really serious. Nothing annoys him more than shot-gun weddings and elopements and shows like _The Bachelor_. He thinks they all ruin the sanctity of marriage.”

“Wow. What must he think of me then?” he said glibly.

“Pfft, he thinks divorce is fine, he just doesn’t like people who treat going into something as serious as a marriage as a joke.”

“Good thing you got married on a show that does just that then.”

Groaning, he put his hood on, pulling the slobbery strings tight so his face was completely hidden. Ahh beautiful nothingness. Now if only he could stay this way forever.

“TK.”

“I can’t tell him. It’s so embarrassing, dad,” he whined. “He’s gonna hate me especially since it’s my fault. I should’ve told my stupid friend to eff off instead of doing him such a stupid favour.”

“I’m sure Yannick didn’t know.”

He whined, flopping down into the fetal position. “That doesn’t help dad. Let me wallow.”

His dad chuckled, patting his ankle in a vain attempt at comfort. “It’ll all work out, you’ll see.”

* * *

_So_.

His dad was full of shit.

Not entirely surprising, but still. He had exactly three hours left of the 72 and still no annulment form and no hint of things working out.

All he had in sight was his rain check date with Carlos. Normally something that set his heart aflutter with happiness and want and something scarily close to a love so mushy it wouldn’t even be allowed in rom-coms. Now, the very thought of seeing his stupidly hot cop boyfriend was making him feel like he’d swallowed a bucket of live worms that were now wiggling deep in his stomach. Not really a good pre-date feeling, especially when said date was going to involve deliciously greasy food.

And, well, _maybe_ his dad did have a point. Seeing as there was no hope to getting his— _their_ —annulment put through in time, he had to tell Carlos the truth. Hopefully he took it well.

God, please let him take it well. He didn’t think he could take another—

“Hey, you ready?”

He knocked his knee on the underside of the kitchen table in surprise, forcing him to spill his coffee all over his pants and shattering the ceramic mug across the firehouse’s concrete floor.

“Shit, TK, are you okay?”

Carlos was on his knees next to him in a split second, hands hovering over the wetness as if he could sense injury through his palms. “Are you hurt?”

“Sorry. I’m fine. I’m okay. It was cold. Only casualty is my pants,” he joked, hoping the jitter in his voice would be brushed off as annoyance at his own clumsiness.

Carlos sighed, his shoulders losing their tension. “If you want me to go grey before you, you’re doing a good job,” he said, rising to his feet but not before planting a quick kiss to TK’s brow. “I don’t think I know anyone who gets in more shenanigans than you.” 

He snorted. “Shenanigans?”

“I said what I said, pretty boy. It’s the perfect all encompassing term for you.” Carlos crossed his arms, eyebrow raised and feet spread shoulder width in a stance TK knew all too well now as his ‘I’m-a-cop-and-take-no-nonsense’ pose. It was kind of hot, if he was being honest. Though he was pretty sure Carlos knew how he felt about it which was why he was doing it. “Now, despite the fact I like you in wet clothes, I’m not so sure others would approve.”

“So if they approved it’d be okay?”

“Not falling for it, TK. The churros and tacos are calling my name and they’re gettin’ antsy.”

He laughed. “Okay, okay. Let me clean up first and then I’ll go change. Is that good enough for the food?” he said, bending down to pick up a large ceramic shard.

“I think they’ll understand once they see things from my point of view.”

TK turned on his heel just as Carlos’ gaze slowly, deliberately dragged from his ass to his eyes.

“You’re incorrigible.”

Carlos shrugged, a shameless smirk on his lips.

* * *

Because he liked to torture himself, he’d set his watch to countdown the remaining hours of his relationship with Carlos as he knew it. With two hours before the final nail was in the coffin, he was starting to get itchy under the collar. The stark reality that Carlos would leave him forever, once again forced TK to face his glaring short-comings and failings head on. Something so overbearing he was sure he was moments away from spontaneously combusting.

Maybe there was another firehouse somewhere in the US that needed to be rebuilt from the ground up? Somewhere really far away like in Hawaii or even Alaska. He could deal with Alaska. They at least had to have Grindr up there didn’t they? Right?

Oh God, he was so screwed.

“Too spicy?”

“No, it’s fine.”

Carlos raised a brow as he looked at TK’s full plate. He’d taken one bite of his taco to quell any worry, only to find himself unable to continue eating, his anxiety too haywire to contemplate another bite.

“I’ve had spicy food before, Carlos. This isn’t that bad.”

“Uh huh, I’ve heard that one before.”

He rolled his eyes good-naturedly before picking at his food again. Even to please Carlos he couldn’t bring himself to stomach putting anything anywhere near his mouth.

Carlos sighed, setting his own food down.

“TK.”

His shoulders hunched on their own accord.

“TK, will you look at me?”

The gentle cadence of his voice was too much, forcing TK to give in before he could stop himself.

Carlos’ eyes, so soft and bright, were like a lighthouse’s beacon. They made him feel safe and welcome, but knowing the truth would change that in a heartbeat. He’d thought the same things about Alex’s eyes during that disaster of a dinner after all and look how that turned out.

“What’s wrong?”

He sighed, trying to will himself to just let it out. Get it over with.

“You’re starting to worry me.”

He gnawed at his lip.

“I… may have done something bad. Or more accurately, allowed something bad to happen.”

He could see the alarm bells blaring in Carlos’ mind as momentary panic passed over his face before he was able to smooth it out into something more calm and collected.

“I’m sure whatever it is we can fix it together.” Carlos reached out a hand, grasping his tightly. “Tell me what’s going through that head of yours.”

His immediate instinct was to pull away but Carlos’ gripped tightened, as if expecting it. “I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t want to know.”

“I don’t want you to be mad but I think you will be and I’m… I’m scared.”

Carlos drew in a deep breath. “I can’t promise I won’t be mad or worried or whatever else you think is going to happen.” TK ducked his head, his heart pounding so hard it made his chest hurt. “What I can promise though, is that I won’t hate you and that I will still stand by you and do everything in my power to make this work. Okay?”

TK nodded.

“Good. Now what did I tell you about giving me grey hairs?”

He smiled, though small, it was still genuine.

“You know how we pretended to get married in the background for that reality show as a favour to my friend?”

Carlos blinked. “Is that why you’ve been so upset lately? I knew we shouldn’t have done it, it was too soon. I’m sorry TK, I should’ve put my foot down—”

“What? No. No. That’s not the issue,” he said making sure to make eye contact so Carlos knew how truthful he was. “I mean, it did kind of twinge, not gonna lie, but I wanted to do it and it was nice, honestly, until—”

“Oh my god dude, look who it is! My favourite couple!” TK immediately tensed, dropping Carlos’ hand as he turned to face none other than _Lance_.

“Heeeey, Lance.”

“TK, Carlos, my dudes. How’s it hangin’?”

“Uhm… good?” He quickly turned back to Carlos who looked just as confused as he felt.

“Siiiick! Oh,” he said, holding out his arms to introduce the scantily dressed woman in knock-off Gucci next to him. “This is my chick, Rhea.”

“Hey,” she said after popping a rather large gum bubble.

“Oh. Hey. Nice to meet you.”

“Oh, babe, these are the guys I was telling you about before. The ones I married. Aren’t they as hot as I said?”

“I don’t see no rings. What’re you cheap or something?” she asked, eyeing them both up with contempt for such an obvious transgression.

“Oh, it wasn’t for real, it was just for—” began Carlos, only to stop when TK face-palmed and Lance blew a raspberry.

“My guy, did you really not tell him? That’s wack man, I thought you were cooler than that.”

“I’ve been trying,” he ground out, his face completely hidden by his hands now.

“Baby, I’m hungry, can we get some tacos already? I don’t want to get involved in somebody else’s domestic today. Once was enough.”

“True. True. Aight, catch you later guys,” said Lance as Rhea dragged him towards the Taco Truck. “Don’t forget to tag me if you actually go on your honeymoon!”

A long moment of silence stretched between them. Not once did TK look up, too afraid of the hurt and betrayal and god knew what else he’d see on Carlos’ face just for him.

“So.”

If possible, he shrunk into himself even more. What the hell was he going to do without Carlos? The one person who dared to try and win him over despite how shitty he’d been and how damaged he was?

“I need you to answer my questions truthfully, TK. You don’t have to look at me but I need to hear your voice, got it?”

He let out a shaky breath. “Yeah.”

“Are we married? Legally?”

“Yeah.”

The shuddering breath Carlos let out was almost enough to break him.

“Is that why you’ve been so upset since we did the shoot? You knew?”

“Yeah, but not until after,” he said, finally able to meet Carlos’ eyes. They were closed off, purposefully waiting for all the evidence before he made a decision. So similar to the night in the police station it made his heart clench.

“I swear Carlos, I didn’t know it was legit until Lance told me after the shoot. I’ve been trying to get it annulled ever since but it’s impossible because Texas has it out for me, I swear to god. And I didn’t want to tell you because A) it’s embarrassing and B) I know you have a lot to deal with and it’s my fault anyways so I didn’t want to add to your plate. And what makes it worse is that I know how serious marriage is to you and if I’d even had an inkling that idiot would make it real I would’ve never ever gone anywhere near that set. I’m so sorry, Carlos.”

Carlos frowned and TK held his breath, trying to steel himself for the inevitable hurt that would come crashing any second. “So…” Carlos began slowly. “You’re upset not because we’re apparently married but because I wouldn’t be okay with how it happened?”

“I-I mean, yeah. Is that bad? You always rant about how sacred it is and how people need to take it seriously and all that.”

Carlos shook his head and laughed. “God, I love you,” he whispered, grabbing the back of TK’s neck to bring their lips together for a deep kiss.

“I’m upset you didn’t tell me right away.” TK nodded, not sure his voice wouldn’t betray him. “But I still love you and things are going to be okay. I promise you that.”

His vision blurred as sudden tears rushed to his eyes and spilled over down his cheeks. He tried to wipe them away, hide his embarrassing relief, but Carlos beat him to the punch, his thumbs gentle as they collected the tears.

TK grabbed Carlos’ forearms and tried, with every fibre of his being, to pour in the love and admiration he felt for the man before him in his grip and his gaze as looked into the most beautiful soul he’d ever known.

As if he knew what TK was trying to say, he pulled him close again, this time brushing a kiss over his forehead before placing another over each eyelid, the tip of his nose, and finally, the point of his chin before pulling away. 

“Let’s go get that annulment,” he said, holding his hand out for TK.

TK laughed, though it was a little wet still. “How? I’ve tried everything. Even begging people in person and on the phone. No one can do it. Especially not with only an hour left.”

Carlos winked. “I have my ways.”

* * *

“Wow. I feel extra stupid now. For some reason it never occurred to me that a cop would be able to get the annulment forms,” he said, looking at the wrinkled, now defunct marriage certificate proudly framed and hung in the living room.

“That’ll teach you to hide things from me from now on, huh?”

He rolled his eyes. “Yes mister policeman,” he said, his voice dripping with faux-innocence as he straddled Carlos’ lap, laying his forearms over his shoulders.

“And I thought I was the incorrigible one?”

TK laughed, dipping down to nuzzle their foreheads before teasing a quick kiss against the other’s lips.

“You know,” said Carlos, “I do have one thing I wanted to mention.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah.”

At the slight uncertainty in his voice, TK pulled back. “What’s wrong?”

Carlos tightened his grip on his hips instinctively, as if he knew TK’s mind would go to worst case scenario (which it did), trying to keep him grounded.

“I just…” he blushed, something TK wasn’t sure he’d ever really seen Carlos do before. Well, outside of the bedroom that was. Still, it was oddly endearing and really hot. “I wanted to be clear that just because we got an annulment doesn’t mean I don’t want to marry you for real one day. I just want to do it right and when we’re ready. If you want to get married, that is. Y’know, one day.”

Speechless, TK rapidly blinked, though apparently a little too long for Carlos, who immediately tried to apologize.

Of course TK had to make it right by kissing him senseless, peppering in words of ardor whenever he came up for air.

After that, the only thought going through both their minds?

_How did I get so lucky._

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading :) 
> 
> Comments and kudos are always much appreciated! ❤️
> 
> \----
> 
> You can also find me on tumblr at tk-buckley :3


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